Our December Whirlwind!

First, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Each year Bryce and I plan to take it easy during the holidays and enjoy a good movie, or even take the time to nap... however it never seems to happen. The more we hope for peace and quiet, the more busy we seem to be. So, giving into my instincts to be a super mom, super wife, and super family member, once again the month of December has come and gone in a blur. What we are left with... the pictures to help us remember. And if Bryce will attest to anything, its the fact that I like to take pictures. :) So, here are our holiday memories. I hope that you enjoy them! And, may you all have a very Happy New Year!

Smith Family Christmas Party Brylee all ready to play with the Smith's.

Smith Family enjoying dinner in our kitchen.

Parker enjoying his new books from Grandpa and Grandma Smith

Seeing Santa Claus

Parker, his friend, Jaxon, and his cousin Aubrey. The mall refused to let me take a picture of them with Santa, so we went to the side. Can I just say, that I think it is freaking ridiculous that they charge 30 bucks for a picture of my kid seeing Santa! Don't they realize he wont even smile...

Parker enjoying his candy cane.

Parker and Brylee

Atkinson Christmas Lunch at Maddox Restaurant

Bryce being super Dad and entertaining both kids at lunch! Way to go!

A look down the table. I must have 20 or so pictures that look just like this. This has been a tradition for my dad's side of the family for as many years as I can remember. But it is a good one. The food here is awesome. Only prob... its in Perry, Utah, which is about 2 hours from us down here in Highland.

Brylee... Ok, I love taking pictures of her. :)

My sis, Jenni and I. Just goofing.

Saunders Family Christmas Party

Parker enjoying dinner with his cousins.

Santa always has time to stop by the Saunder's party. Yes, that is Parker, eating his Santa treat before he is even off his lap.

Bryce and Santa

Santa and I. Thank you to my cuz, Corey for taking this awesome pic.

Kaylie and Santa

Obviously, Landon is still afraid.

Part of my family doing skits. I failed to mention, that not only did we attend these parties this year, we also planned both the Saunders and Smith party. So, if you never need any ideas... this was hilarious.

Christmas Eve

This year, Kaylie and Landon were with their mom for Christmas Eve. Therefore, Bryce andI spent they day with my family. We played games and ate alot! For those who live in Utah you know why we were homebound... I think our state got like a foot of snow this day!

Christmas jammies! Another tradition I can thank my Mom for. Every Christmas Eve, we are allowed to open one gift... that gift is always new Christmas pjs. Here is Brylee sporting hers.

Parker's had Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on them. He is trying to show you that.

My fam... of course we are all in our new pjs. After the gifts, the tradition continues with hilarious photo ops.

After a few hundred or so photos, which I spared you from, comes time for making Santa's cookies. Because we all know... if Santa does not get his cookies... he is grumpy. :)

Christmas Morning

So, you know when you are a teen and you swear you'll never do to your kids, what your parents did to you... well thats a lie. So, thanks to Janna ( My mom) again for this one... my kids waiting on the stairs to go down together to see what Santa brought.

Santa had this gift all put together. And, Parker loved it! In fact it took a lot of convincing to pull him away to un-wrap his other gifts.

So, Brylee got a Bumbo chair. And can I just say... best thing ever! She loves it, and it is a great place to sit her when I need my hands.

He finally got the hang of it... and then he wanted to open everyones Christmas presents.

Parker and his haul... thank you Santa is what he kept saying.

Brylee, and her Christmas.

Christmas Afternoon at my Mom's

So, we got Kaylie and Landon back and headed to my Mom's for more Christmas.

Though its past noon, I am not sure that Landon is awake yet...

Parker playing with Brylee.

So, Bryce and I, along with my Dad, had a surprise gift for everyone this year. This is them, figuring it out. Each of them got a piece to a puzzle. They put it together... and realized they were going on a cruise!

Enjoying Gifts

My sweet girl...She is wearing an adorable hat that Kaylie gave to her.

So, she is tired of pictures... I get it, and I bet so are you. Thanks for visiting our blog though.

Brylee's Special Day

Yesterday, we blessed Brylee. Thank you to all of our family and friends that were there to share that day with us. We are so grateful to know how loved and supported we are. We feel so blessed to have Brylee as part of our family and know she is lucky to have all of you.

My Blue-eyed girl.

Brylee wishing I would put the camera away.

Brylee in her Blessing dress.

Me and My Girl!

Festival of the Trees

Every year I try to make it to the Festival of the Trees. It is a charity event held here in Utah to raise funds for Primary Children's Medical Center. People decorate the trees and then they are sold. Some of these trees are breath- taking, and sell for thousands of dollars. It is incredible to see how creative people are. And, every once in a while, I will see a tree that is in honor of a child that was actually one of my patients. That is always something very humbling. This year we took all of the kids. Kaylie liked the trees, but wished she were there on a date instead of with her family. :) Landon loved the Gingerbread houses, and Parker loved all of the toys under some of the trees. He wanted them all. Brylee just liked all the action. And my favorite... the sliced apples with home made Carmel on top. They are to die for!
Kaylie and Brylee posing.

Yes, thats Parker riding in the stroller, sitting in the baby carrier. I guess he thought that was the best view.

In honor of all you Twilight fans, myself included. Here is a tree titled " A Cullen Christmas." The picture does not do it justice. It was all red, white, and black. Then they had used all the items from the front covers of the books...including dipping white flowers in red paint. The larger bulbs had the names of all the characters. Nobody was forgotten. It was awesome. Then, under the tree... anything that you could ever want that has to do with the series. Calendars, books, magazines, games etc. I guess the ladies who put the tree together actually took a road trip to Forks, Washington. So, you had high school memorabilia too. There was a ton of thought in this tree.

On a side note... Bryce and I went with some of our friends to see "Twilight"... finally... and we freakin' loved it. And despite all the opinions on characters, special effects, etc, I bought it, and fell in love with "Twilight" all over again. In fact that night, on our way home, I made Bryce stop and buy me the book, just so I could read it again. That was a week ago... since then I have re-read "Twilight," " New Moon," and I am working on " Eclipse." Lets just say not much is getting done around my house... its an obsession. I should have not started again. :)

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving we were actually all together as a family. In years passed, the kids have been with their Mom a lot, so I think this is the first year we have had them all day since Bryce and I have been married. We had dinner at Bryce's sisters house. It was a wonderful meal. We hung out there for a little while, then went to my grandparents for some pie and to see my fam for a few hours. It was a nice day... and now its legal to listen to Christmas music, turn on the lights and hope for snow. :)